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Salt Companies Fail to Bid on Mid-Season Salt Contract

ODOT had hoped for approximately 150,000 tons to give to local communities

COLUMBUS (Friday, February 14, 2014) – A request from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to provide road salt to local communities in need has received no bids from salt companies.

On Wednesday, February 5, ODOT asked salt companies to bid on 10,000 ton increments of salt to be delivered to seven strategic locations during three rounds. The intent was to receive at least 150,000 tons of road salt that ODOT could provide to local communities where some supplies are depleted. The agency planned to charge nothing for the road salt and instead was asking communities to return the salt once their supplies were replenished. The 10-day bid period for salt companies ended today.

ODOT is committed to assisting local communities with temporary salt supplies and is exploring alternative ways to get road salt into Ohio and provide it free of charge. More information should be available soon.

Since the beginning of winter, ODOT has used more than 880,000 tons of salt on Ohio roadways. That amount does not include the salt counties, cities, townships and villages are using to treat roads in local communities.

With 43,000 lane miles to treat, 3,000 drivers and 1,600 snow plows statewide, ODOT drivers have treated more than 11 million miles of roads making this winter one of the most active seasons in history.